Heat Internationals Want WBBL Model Taken Worldwide

Touted around the world as the opportunity many female cricketers had been waiting for, the game’s first club-based T20 female competition was always going to be a major drawcard for international players to be involved in.  

Higher than expected television audiences, encouraging crowd support and increased media coverage have all contributed to the aura that the WBBL has created in its first season, and the feeling of having been part of something special is not lost on the English recruits.

“I’ve absolutely loved it. The girls have been great, the coaches have been great and everyone has just really taken us in and made us feel welcome,” says Cross, who came to Brisbane looking to build her credentials as a T20 cricketer.

“As an international cricketer you want to be playing as much as you can and opportunities like this don’t come around that often. You always want to be part of something special, especially when it’s brand new”, she continued.

For Winfield, the decision to leave behind Yorkshire’s dreary winter for Queensland’s summer sun and join the revolutionary competition was a pretty simple one.

“You hear a lot of the blokes talk about the Big Bash as probably the best T20 competition they play in and one everyone wants to be involved in.

“When we heard there would be a women’s franchise competition starting in Australia it was always going to be a big attraction, and it’s lived up to all our expectations,” she said.

In the eyes of many the WBBL has been a rousing success through the quality of cricket it has produced and the publicity it has received, and both Cross and Winfield believe the club-based T20 model is one that can be successfully replicated across the world in the same vein as the men’s game.

“That’s where the women’s game will go I think. Like they have with the men’s game, other countries will jump on board off the back off the BBL’s success,” Winfield said.

“This is the first proper international women’s competition outside of international series and it’s great that Australia has taken this chance. Women’s cricket is growing at a rapid rate and that will be the next step – to get competitions like this in different countries,” she continued.

Cross is adamant the WBBL’s influence will be seen as soon as this year when England’s six team Women’s Cricket Super League is launched.

“The WBBL is the first of its kind and Cricket Australia has been pretty brave by staging it. We’ve got our Super League starting this year and I’d say the ECB (English and Wales Cricket Board) will be keen to hear our thoughts on what went well and what didn’t.

“This style of competition is what needs to happen in the women’s game. The ECB would be daft if they didn’t look at this competition and think where they can move forward.”

A key element in the modernisation of men’s cricket has been the global opportunities it presents. A raft of international T20 competitions sees players regularly travelling to different countries to play in new teams, whilst at the same time forming new bonds with teammates who would normally be seen as international adversaries.

Although the life of a travelling athlete is nothing new for women’s cricket, the opportunity to experience a different way of life in a new culture while at the same time earning an extra income playing cricket is part of the new age of female cricket professionalism, and an element of the WBBL experience that both players relished.

“I was a bit worried about coming into a new team who had been playing together for so long but Lauren and I were made to feel welcome from the start,” says Cross.

“After our first training session the first thing I came away with was how close a group of friends they are. They play for each other, they play for the badge and all the hard work and dedication they do is for each other and for the team.

“That’s a really special environment that has been created and to come into that and be made to feel a part made everything a lot easier for us. That will definitely be something I take away from this experience is the environment and culture that exists here,” she continued.

Winfield in particular thrived off training with fellow professionals who just months earlier were her Ashes adversaries.

“It’s been so good being able tell your stories, listen to their stories, both on and off the field and obviously build a bond with new teammates.

“It’s great to see how they go about their business and likewise hopefully the girls have picked up on a few things from us,” she said.

Next stop on the world-wind journey for both players will be England’s tour of South Africa to further press their credentials ahead of March’s World Twenty20 tournament in India.

While winning is every players number one priority, playing an exciting brand of cricket and promoting the game to a wider audience and brining new fans to the game runs a close second.

“Although girls like Holly and Jess are my rivals for a majority of the year, everyone is just talking about the bigger picture, which is how the women’s game is constantly growing and how we can make it a better moving forward,” says Cross.

After a landmark summer it’s safe to say the game will only go from strength to strength.